Azulene is an organic compound and an isomer of naphthalene. Whereas naphthalene is colourless, azulene is dark blue. Its name is derived from the Spanish word azul, meaning "blue". Two terpenoids, vetivazulene (4,8-dimethyl-2-isopropylazulene) and guaiazulene (1,4-dimethyl-7-isopropylazulene), that feature the azulene skeleton are found in nature as constituents of pigments in mushrooms, guaiac wood oil, and some marine invertebrates.

Its dipole moment is 1.08 D,[4] in contrast with naphthalene, which has a dipole moment of zero. This polarity can be explained by regarding azulene as the fusion of the aromatic 6 π-electron cyclopentadienyl anion and aromatic 6 π-electron tropylium cation. In order to achieve the stable aromatic sextet in both rings, one electron from the seven-membered ring is transferred to the five-membered ring. Reactivity studies confirm that seven-membered ring is electrophilic and the five-membered ring is nucleophilic.

The dipolar nature of the ground state is reflected in its deep colour, which is unusual for small unsaturated aromatic compounds. Another notable feature of azulene is that it violates Kasha's rule by exhibiting fluorescence from an upper-excited state (S2 → S0).[5]

In organometallic chemistry, azulene serves as a ligand for low-valent metal centers, which otherwise are known to form π-complexes with both cyclopentadienyl and cycloheptatrienyl ligands. Illustrative complexes are (azulene)Mo2(CO)6 and (azulene)Fe2(CO)5.[9]